Anna Fowlie

After celebrating the 10,000th job created by Community Jobs Scotland, I’m writing this piece with a heavy heart. The scheme has been a great success for the young people benefitting from the jobs and for the hundreds of voluntary organisations who have been able to create and... Read more

I’m really excited to be joining the Fair Work Convention, taking over from Henry Simmons of Alzheimer’s Scotland. Henry has contributed to the convention since it was set up and led its work on social care, so they’re big shoes to fill. The convention’s work includes a framework... Read more

Since the elections in May, I’ve heard Scottish Ministers talk about Scotland’s economic, health and social recovery from Covid as a “joint endeavour.” That we must “lift our eyes from the immediate and look towards recovery, creating fair work, addressing poverty and inequality... Read more

Waiting for the announcement of the new Scottish Cabinet and ministers is final throes of the excitement of an election. I spend weeks combing through manifesto commitments, over-analysing what’s said in speeches and debates – seeing glimmers of hope and harbingers of doom. I... Read more

Earlier this week it was my pleasure to host a webinar to launch our Never More Needed short film, and bring together a panel to discuss what we can learn from the pandemic about the sector’s role. The film reflects the vital role voluntary organisations play throughout our lives... Read more

Now that the Social Renewal Advisory Board’s report If Not Now, When? has hit the digital newsstands and I’m seeing the reactions in the twitter bubble, I’d like to share some thoughts. When I was asked to join the advisory board, I was pretty dubious. One of my favourite songs... Read more

About 18 months ago, I started thinking about shifting our AGM online. I saw how successful it had been for ACEVO, the English equivalent of ACOSVO, and thought it could work for us. It would allow more people to participate as they wouldn’t have to travel and might be less... Read more

The coronavirus pandemic has impacted on every aspect of our lives, in a way that none of us has ever experienced. The speed and extremity of the impact is unprecedented, and the country was not prepared. The voluntary sector has seen a sudden, dramatic reduction in income... Read more

When the Scottish Government announced in November 2019 that the budget would be postponed, due to the general election, SCVO recognised that the delay would impact on funding decisions for the voluntary sector. The delay and uncertainty will likely cause significant challenges... Read more

At our recent AGM we shared a lot of the great stuff we've been doing over the past 12 months and I'm excited to say there’s more to come! I’m particularly looking forward to the membership review. Our new team have been busy laying the foundations and now they’re getting ready... Read more